How does DTA count income for SNAP?
DTA counts income and expenses using a monthly average calculation of 4 and 1/3 weeks for each month. For example, if your gross earnings are $500 per week, we would calculate your monthly earnings this way: $500 x 4.333 = $2,166.50 per month.
Note: Sometimes, we may count some or all the income of someone who lives with you and has to be part of your SNAP case, but who isn’t eligible for SNAP.
What expenses can I claim for SNAP?
- Earned Income Deduction: A 20-percent deduction from earned income is automatically applied to your SNAP calculation if someone in your household is working.
- Standard Deduction: The standard deduction is based on the household size. For a household of 1 to 3 people, the standard deduction is $204. For a household of 4, the standard deduction is $217. This is automatically applied to your SNAP calculation.
- Dependent Care Deduction: A dependent care deduction can be applied to households when an adult household member must pay for childcare in order to go to work, look for work, or attend school or a training program. Learn how to tell DTA about these costs.
- Medical Deduction: Elderly (aged 60 or more) or disabled household members can claim medical expenses that are more than $35 per month if they are not paid by insurance or someone else. Learn how to tell DTA about these costs.
- Legally Obligated Child Support Deduction: A client can claim this deduction if they are responsible for paying court-ordered child support payments for a child living outside of their household. If claimed, these payments also do not count as part of your income. Learn how to tell DTA about these costs.
- The Shelter Deduction: The SNAP shelter deduction allows a household to deduct housing expenses that are more than half of their net income (total income minus total preliminary deductions). If the SNAP household has no elderly (60 or older) or disabled members, there is a cap on the amount of shelter deduction the household can receive. The current shelter cap is $712.
Allowable shelter costs include (but not are limited to):
- Rent or mortgage payments
- Property taxes
- Home insurance
- Fuel to heat and cook with
- Electricity
- Water
- The basic fee for one telephone
We credit your utilities with a Standard Utility Allowance (SUA). The SUA is a standard amount that represents average utility costs in Massachusetts. DTA updates the SUA every year to reflect changes in utility costs. The current SUAs are:
- Heating (or air conditioning) SUA is included in your SNAP calculation when you report that you pay to heat or cool your home. The current Heating SUA is $890.
- Non-heating SUA is included in your SNAP calculation when you report that you pay for electricity that is not used to heat or cool your home, cooking fuel, water, sewerage, garbage, and trash collection. The current Non-heating SUA is $542.
- Telephone-only SUA is included in your SNAP calculation when you report that you pay for a cell phone or a landline. This does not include phone cards. The Telephone-only SUA is $62.
You will be credited with the highest SUA you can receive based on the utilities you pay separately from rent. Example: If you pay for oil, electric and a phone, DTA will only use the highest SUA amount applicable to your case. In this instance, the Department would apply $890 in your calculation as your SUA (you will not get $890 + $542 + $62).
How does DTA determine my net income for SNAP?
For your SNAP benefit calculation, your net income is your gross income minus the deductions we have listed above: Earned, Standard, Dependent Care, Medical, Legally Obligated Child Support, and Shelter. You will always get the standard deduction. You will only get the other deductions if those expenses apply to your household.
How does DTA determine the amount of SNAP benefits I can get?
DTA determines your monthly SNAP benefit level by subtracting 30% of your net income from the highest monthly SNAP amount you can get based on your household size.
What are the steps in the SNAP calculation?
Sample Client Scenario:
Household of 3: A mother and her two minor children.
Monthly gross income: Earned Income = $2,500/month. Child support received is $500/month.
Dependent care expenses: $250/month.
Shelter costs: Rent is $600/month. Household is responsible for paying electricity for heat.
Calculating the Client's Total Income:
To calculate the client's total income, we add their Countable Earned Income and their Countable Unearned Income.
| Countable Earned Income: | $2,500 |
|---|---|
| Countable Unearned Income: | $500 |
| Total Income: | $3,000 |
Calculating the Client's Preliminary Deductions
To calculate the client's preliminary deductions, we add up all of their potential deductions except for their shelter deduction.
| Standard Deduction (Based on a Household of 3): | $204 |
|---|---|
| Earned Income Deduction (20% of Countable Earned Income): | $500 |
| Countable Medical Deduction: | $0 |
| Dependent Care Deduction: | $250 |
| Child Support Deduction: | $0 |
| Preliminary Deductions: | $954 |
Calculating the Client's Preliminary Adjusted Net Income (PANI)
To calculate the client's PANI, we subtract their preliminary deductions from their total income.
| Total Income: | $3,000 |
|---|---|
| Preliminary Deductions: | $954 |
| Preliminary Adjusted Net Income (PANI): | $2,046 |
Calculating the Client's Shelter Deduction
To calculate the client's shelter deductions, we subtract 1/2 of their PANI from their total shelter expense.
| Total Shelter Expense ($600 Rent + $890 Standard Utility Deduction): | $1,490 |
|---|---|
| ½ of the Preliminary Adjusted Net Income (PANI): | $1,023 |
| Shelter Deduction | $467 |
Calculating Monthly Net Income:
To calculate the client's monthly net income, we subtract their shelter deduction from their PANI.
| Preliminary Adjusted Net Income (PANI): | $2,046 |
|---|---|
| Shelter Deduction: | $467 |
| Monthly Net Income: | $1,579 |
Calculating Monthly SNAP Benefit Amount:
To calculate the client's monthly SNAP benefit amount, we subtract 30% of their monthly net income from the maximum benefit for their household size.
| Maximum Benefit for a Household of 3: | $768 |
|---|---|
| 30% of Monthly Net Income of $1,626: | $473.70 |
| Monthly SNAP Benefit Amount (always round down to the nearest whole dollar amount): | $294.30 $294 per month |
The client's total Monthly SNAP Benefit Amount would be $294 per month.
Additional Resources
-
Open PDF file, 90.94 KB, Maximum benefit levels as referenced at 106 CMR 364.600 (English, PDF 90.94 KB)